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The Hale Pack and the Stilinski Skulk have co-existed for ages in Beacon Hills. The ‘wolves are territorial, the ‘foxes not so much. So there was never much discrepancy over “owning” the land, as only one group thought that it needed an owner.
Each group had free reign to run around the preserve whenever they chose, and if they crossed paths there were taught to be cordial to the other.
The two families never really became close enough to be called true friends until Claudia married into the family. John was the last Stilinski currently living in Beacon Hills, as ‘foxes never had much of a “pack mind” like the ‘wolves do, and the rest of his family had moved somewhere else. When he met Claudia, they fell instantly in love. After a year of marriage, they had a tiny kit to call their own, and thus the skulk was back to being an actual group.
Claudia was not a ‘fox, though she loved to encourage Stiles to be himself in all forms, and often ran after him through the woods, as if she were a ’fox herself, rolling around with him in the grass and the dirt, careful not to crush her tiny son.
John spent much of his time working, so it was only once or twice a week that he would get the chance to relax with his family in his fox form.
It was one of these days when the Stilinski Skulk came in contact with two Hale ‘wolves. Both were children, fully shifted, teasingly biting at each other as they rolled in the grass.
Stiles, recognizing this play immediately, trotted over to join them. John placed a hand on Claudia’s shoulder when she’d reached out to pull her son back, silently telling her that it was okay. He wanted to see how they interacted.
Stiles romped over to the smaller of the two wolves, one with pitch-black fur, and smacked him in the nose. Claudia smothered her laugh at the completely baffled look on the tiny ‘wolf’s face.
The ‘wolf then bared his teeth, sniffing at Stiles. Stiles, unperturbed, hit him once again before bouncing back, inciting a chase.
The little ‘wolf fell into the trap easily and started chasing Stiles around in circles. Stiles was chattering happily the entire time, and John and Claudia cooed over how adorable of a picture the pair made.
The other ‘wolf, one slightly bigger than the other with dark brown fur, padded over to them before shifting back to human. John offered her his coat immediately, and she wrapped it around her shoulders without comment. Supernatural creatures, in general, had no issues with nudity, but being a police officer had instilled reactions in John. Plus, the girl looked to be no more than ten, and they were two strange adults.
“I’m Laura,” the girl introduced herself. She pointed over to the other ‘wolf. “That’s Derek, my little brother. He’s only six.”
“Stiles is four,” Claudia offered, smiling down at Laura. “Are you a Hale, sweetheart?”
Laura nodded. “Yep. Mom said we could come and play for an hour. Sorry for interrupting your time.”
John was impressed with how diplomatic this little girl was being. She was probably next in line to be the Hale Pack Alpha. “It’s no problem,” he assured her. “How is your family doing?”
“We’re good, Mr. Stilinski.” Laura joined them in watching Derek and Stiles tussle about, throwing leaves into the air and nibbling at each others’ feet.
When the pair ducked behind a tree, a little wolf came tumbling out the other side, but a fox did not. Instead, Stiles must have shifted back accidentally, because he shuffled over, looking bashful.
Probably to make him feel less awkward, Derek shifted back too, and then smiled widely at Stiles. He stuck his hand out, and Stiles shook it, schooling his face to look more serious.
“I’m Derek Hale.”
“I’m Stiles Stilinski.”
Derek scrunched up his nose. “Your name is Stiles?”
Stiles crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. “Yeah? So?”
Derek blushed and ducked his head. “Nothing. It’s fine. I like it.”
Stiles dropped the angry arms and beamed. “You do?”
Derek looked back up at him and nodded. “Mhmm.”
“Derek!” Laura called, capturing both boys’ attentions. “It’s been an hour.”
Derek whined, high in his throat. Stiles frowned, not liking the sad noise the boy made.
“What does that mean?” Stiles asked, turning back to Derek. He saw his own parents standing up, and wondered if it was time to go home.
“It means I have to go home,” Derek said, glumly. Then, his eyes lit up, flashing a brilliant yellow. “Wait! Maybe you can come with me! We can still play, but I can’t be out in the woods without adult vision!”
Stiles beamed at the boy. “Yeah!” He took Derek’s hand and dragged him over to his parents. “Mama! Tata! Can I go play at Derek’s house?”
His mom rubbed a hand over his head, dislodging some blades of grass from his hair. “We’ll have to ask Derek’s mom. But we can certainly all walk Laura and Derek home. Right?” She turned to look at her husband, to confirm that this was an okay thing to do.
“’Course, son,” John said with a smile.
Stiles grinned at Derek, and Derek grinned back.
As if they already had a silent language between them, they both shifted back at the same time, before Derek let out a short howl and started leading the way home. Stiles followed right at his side, jumping on Derek every half a minute or so.
“Wait for me!” Laura called, shedding John’s jacket before shifting back as well and chasing after Stiles and her brother. John picked the jacket up as they passed it, following after the three kids, and Claudia shared a look with him.
“We’re going to be spending a lot of time with the ‘wolves from here on out, I think,” John whispered to her.
Claudia intertwined her fingers with her husband’s. “That’s okay. I’ve always felt that our little skulk would play well with others.”
Several feet ahead, Derek bated Stiles on the nose with his paw, in retribution. Stiles smacked him in the face with his tail and laughed when Derek tripped. Laura, a few feet behind them, mentally rolled her eyes, and knew that their mother was going to get a kick out of this.